Home EV chargers
NICEIC certified 7kW smart charger installation across the North East from £799. OZEV grant handled where eligible. Solar-pair ready. PEN-fault compliant. 3-year manufacturer warranty.
A 7kW home charger costs the same to install regardless of which tariff you pick — but the tariff determines whether you're paying 2p per mile or 9p per mile to drive. For a 10,000-mile-a-year commuter, the gap between Intelligent Octopus Go (7p/kWh) and a standard variable tariff (~28p/kWh) is around £700 a year. That's £7,000 over the life of the charger.
Home charging is also faster than most public charging for typical overnight use cases. A 7kW home charger adds ~30 miles of range per hour — fully replenishing most EVs from empty in 4-8 hours. Plug in when you get home, wake up to a full battery.
£799
From, fully installed
2p/mile
On 7p/kWh smart tariff
4-8 hrs
Typical full overnight charge
£350
OZEV grant (flats/tenants)
Chargers we install
We've installed dozens of charger models over the years and settled on three as our standard range. All are OCPP-compatible (so they're not locked to one app or tariff in the future), all have 3-year warranties, all are PEN-fault compliant (required since 2022). The differences are in solar integration, tariff intelligence, and form factor.
7kW · UK-made · Solar-integrated
Designed in Stafford, manufactured in the UK. The only mainstream charger with a built-in "solar-only" mode that uses surplus solar generation rather than drawing from the grid. If you have or plan to install solar PV, the Zappi is almost always the right choice. Strong app, OCPP-compatible, three-phase variant available.
7kW · Tariff-integrated · 3-year warranty
The tightest integration with Octopus Intelligent Octopus Go and similar smart tariffs. Set your target charge level and departure time in the Ohme app, and it schedules charging automatically to find the cheapest window. Most "set-and-forget" of the major chargers. Best for high-mileage commuters without solar.
7kW (or 11kW 3-phase) · Compact
Compact form factor — smaller and more discreet than Zappi or Ohme. OCPP-compatible. Reliable, well-priced, broad load-management features. Good general-purpose choice for customers without strong solar or specific-tariff requirements.
OZEV chargepoint grant
The OZEV (Office for Zero Emission Vehicles) chargepoint grant was significantly restricted in 2022. Homeowners in standalone houses no longer qualify — the grant is now only available to flat owner-occupiers and tenants/landlords of leasehold or rented properties. The grant covers up to £350 of the installation cost.
Qualifies for grant
Does not qualify
We check eligibility for free as part of every survey and handle the application if you qualify. About 1 in 4 of our EV charger installs across the North East currently qualify under the new rules — mostly Tyneside flats, university-let HMOs and rural tenanted properties.
Smart EV tariffs
On a standard variable tariff at ~28p/kWh, charging a typical 60kWh EV from empty costs ~£17. On Intelligent Octopus Go at 7p/kWh, the same charge costs ~£4. Over 10,000 miles of driving the difference is roughly £700 a year — more than the cost of the charger over 1-2 years.
| Tariff | Off-peak rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligent Octopus Go | 7p/kWh | Smart-scheduled overnight, set your target charge and Octopus handles timing. |
| Octopus Go | 8.5p/kWh | 5-hour fixed off-peak window (00:30-05:30). Simpler setup. |
| EDF GoElectric | ~9p/kWh | Available to all EDF customers, 5-hour overnight band. |
| OVO Charge Anytime | 7p/kWh | Smart-scheduled, EV-specific. |
| British Gas Electric Driver | ~9.5p/kWh | Bundle for British Gas import customers. |
| Octopus Agile | variable | Half-hourly variable; cheapest if you actively manage charging windows. |
Solar + EV
Combining solar PV with an EV charger lets you drive on what your own roof generates. A 4kW solar array in the North East produces roughly 3,500 kWh per year — enough to drive a typical EV around 12,000 miles. In practice, time-of-day matching means a meaningful chunk of summer driving is genuinely solar-powered, while winter driving still uses grid power on the cheap overnight rate.
For Zappi customers specifically, the "Eco+" mode automatically draws from surplus solar generation only — the car only charges when there's spare power. That gives you "free" charging from sun-only generation, with optional grid top-up only if you flick the car into Fast mode for an urgent charge.
For a typical North East household with a 10,000-mile-a-year EV and a 4kW solar install, we'd expect roughly 30-50% of annual EV charging to come from your own solar in good weather years, with the remainder on cheap overnight tariff rates.
Future-proofing
EV charging technology is still evolving. A few features to look for in any 2026 install:
EV charger packages
Three home charger packages by brand. All NICEIC certified install, smart-tariff configured, Northern Powergrid DNO handled. Tethered or untethered.
7 kW · single-phase
Untethered
Fully installed · 0% VAT applied
7 kW · single-phase
Untethered or tethered
Fully installed · 0% VAT applied
7 kW · single-phase
Solar-pairing specialist
Fully installed · 0% VAT applied
Prices indicative — final quote subject to free roof / site survey. North East installs only. 0% VAT applies to all residential energy-saving materials in the UK until 31 March 2027.
EV charger savings calculator
Home charging on a smart tariff costs ~7p/kWh — petrol is ~13p/mile. The savings are bigger than most people realise.
Estimated for your inputs
Installation cost
£—
After 0% VAT
Estimated annual saving
£—
based on current tariffs
Payback
—
simple payback period
Results recalculate as you adjust inputs. Indicative ranges only — not a quote.
Works best together
A 7kW charger on a smart tariff already cuts fuel costs by 70-80% vs petrol. Adding solar and battery storage takes it further — towards near-zero marginal driving cost on sunny days, and consistent low overnight rates on cloudy ones.
Zappi smart chargers run "solar-only" mode automatically — your EV charges from your roof when the sun is generating. Free driving fuel for 30-50% of typical annual mileage.
See solar panels →Battery covers daytime household loads on overnight tariff arbitrage, while the EV charges from the same cheap window. Smart tariffs like Intelligent Octopus Go handle the scheduling automatically.
See home battery storage →How surplus solar export rates and smart EV tariffs compare — and when each is the better destination for your spare kWh.
See seg + ev tariff economics →Our accreditations
MCS Certified
NAPM47760
Heat pumps & solar
NICEIC Approved
D124458
Electrical contractor
Gas Safe Register
947841
Gas appliances
Heat Geek Trained
Heat pump design specialists
TrustMark
Government endorsed
Quality scheme
SafeContractor
Approved
H&S accredited
ISO 9001
2015
Quality management
ISO 14001
2015
Environmental management
ISO 45001
2018
OH&S management
PAS 2030
:2019
Retrofit standard
NAPIT
Member
Electrical inspection
F-Gas Certified
Air conditioning refrigerant
MCS Certified
NAPM47760
Heat pumps & solar
NICEIC Approved
D124458
Electrical contractor
Gas Safe Register
947841
Gas appliances
Heat Geek Trained
Heat pump design specialists
TrustMark
Government endorsed
Quality scheme
SafeContractor
Approved
H&S accredited
ISO 9001
2015
Quality management
ISO 14001
2015
Environmental management
ISO 45001
2018
OH&S management
PAS 2030
:2019
Retrofit standard
NAPIT
Member
Electrical inspection
F-Gas Certified
Air conditioning refrigerant
Every accreditation listed is independently verified. We carry the registration numbers — ask for any on request.
Service coverage
Town-specific information including OZEV eligibility patterns, Northern Powergrid DNO process, and parking/access considerations for your area.
North East UK coverage
Approximate positions
Most-installed-in towns
All 18 towns covered
Click any townOutside these 18?
Get in touch — we sometimes take on projects beyond our regular coverage area when there's a good fit.
Ask about your areaZappi, Ohme or Easee — solar-pair ready, OZEV grant handled where eligible, NICEIC certified install. From £799.
